<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xml:lang="en" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
<head>
  <title>Chapter 16</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet"
        type="text/css"
        href="css/style.css" />
  <link rel="stylesheet"
        type="text/css"
        href="css/media.css" />
</head>
<body class="content layout-paginated">
  <div id="chapter-16" class="element element-bodymatter element-container-single element-type-chapter element-with-heading">
    <div class="heading heading-with-title heading-with-image" id="chapter-16-heading">
      <div class="heading-contents">
        <div class="title-subtitle-block title-block-title-is-element-number">
          <div class="element-number-block">
          </div>
          <div class="title-block">
            <h1 class="title">Chapter 16</h1>
          </div>
          <h2 class="subtitle">Lukas</h2>
        </div>
        <div class="heading-image-block heading-image-aspect-square heading-image-block-after-title-and-subtitle">
          <div class="heading-image-size-container heading-image-width-250">
            <img src="images/opheliabellsolodragon.jpg"
                 alt=""
                 class="heading-image-image" />
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="text" id="chapter-16-text">
      <p class="first first-in-chapter first-full-width"><span class="first-letter first-letter-l">L</span>ukas was wired from worry over Belah’s safety. Even though he knew his brother’s perpetual scowl meant Iszak was just as worked up over the situation, he hated the silent treatment. In spite of the liquor-soaked talk they’d had earlier that morning, and the revelation of the danger their mate might be in, he still resented the fact that she’d wanted Iszak in addition to himself. She’d responded to Iszak’s music so instinctively that she’d sung the words to a song she couldn’t have possibly heard before. The lyrics hadn’t been uttered in five decades, and the latest brood of dragons had only just ascended within the last year.</p>
      <p class="subsq">But that was evidence enough that the song his sister had written had served its purpose of luring their true mate to them. And what if Evie had been here to sing it? Would it have called another dragon for her?</p>
      <p class="subsq">He and his brother hadn’t played the song together in just as long. Even though they had a standing date at the Gatormouth, they stuck to the popular blues songs of other artists when they played together, only occasionally filling in the set list with their own arrangements. Their band hadn’t been anything special in many years, so he hoped the club’s manager would be willing to move up the date for their show.</p>
      <p class="subsq">The alley door that led the back way into the club was locked. Iszak leaned on the buzzer while Lukas paced impatiently.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“He’ll do it,” Ozzie said, trying to calm them down. “Davis owes us.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">But when the door opened and Davis, the bleary-eyed old blues man who owned the club, stood frowning at them, Lukas wasn’t so sure.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Davis ushered them in and they made their case anyway, sitting in the dim interior of the empty club around one of the tables, surrounded by the scent of stale beer and sweat.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Davis continued to frown while he listened, arms crossed across his thick midsection. His expression didn’t bode well, but Lukas couldn’t get a bead on any kind of reaction from him. Finally, Davis nodded and uncrossed his arms, hooking his thumbs into his suspenders.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Best I can offer is to move you three to Tuesday. That’ll mean giving that night’s headliner Saturday, along with Saturday’s take—you’ll be losing money, but if it’s that important to you to play sooner, it’s that or nothing. Tonight’s off the table. Mind if I ask why the fuck you guys want to make such a boneheaded switch? You pull in more than most of the other acts. More single women come for your shows, and that means a bigger audience all around. If I didn’t know you guys better, I’d think you were doing this for a lady.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">All it took was Lukas and Iszak’s glance at each other and Davis let out a thunderous guffaw.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Well, I’ll be. Which of you landed a bird finally? After all these years of you nailing whatever pretty girl had the guts to sneak backstage …” He shook his head and then tilted his chin at their cousin. “Does this have something to do with Ozzie’s messed up face? It’s an improvement, if you ask me.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Ozzie reached up to test the cut on his forehead and shrugged.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Doesn’t matter which of us it is, does it?” Lukas said. “We’re just hoping she’ll show.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Davis shook his head. “Boys, you know my ad budget doesn’t reach that far. Even if folks knew it was you guys playing on Tuesday, it’s too short notice. I sure hope your girl has wicked ears on her, if you think she’ll come just because you’re playing.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“We’re willing to take the risk,” Iszak said, finally entering the conversation. He reached his hand out to Davis and the pair shook. Lukas and Ozzie followed suit.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas’s stomach churned as they said farewell to their friend. Davis had been a fixture for them for longer than the old man knew, but the Wind had the uncanny ability to convince humans that their memories were faulty. And humans were nothing if not adaptable. Davis loved to tell them that they reminded him of an old, unknown band he’d played with in his youth. Lukas regretted never reaching for the limelight, but they knew better. Less public presence meant less opportunity for their enemy to find them.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Now they needed to be found, and despite several hours flying over the city after leaving their grandmother’s, they’d caught no glimmer of the other end to the blurred thread that connected them to Belah. She was hidden well, which should have comforted Lukas, but he still vibrated with the need to be close to her again. Even though he’d found her—his true mate—they hadn’t sealed the deal.</p>
      <p class="subsq">For a turul, that meant the very intimate process of sharing breath, because the Wind was everything to them. The air in their lungs was sacred. The dragons knew how much it meant, even though their power resided elsewhere. Dragon breath was as sacred, though wasn’t the source of the mating magic dragons used.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas’s own lungs ached now with the need to sing to her, to share that breath, first calling to the heavens before letting himself breathe for her.</p>
      <p class="subsq"><i>Boreas breathes for us, we breathe for each other.</i> It was a simple wedding mantra, but the one they held to as members of the houses of the four Winds.</p>
      <p class="subsq">He had no idea how it would work with Iszak in the mix, but if Iszak’s story could be believed, Belah had lungs on her enough to accommodate them both.</p>
      <p class="subsq">They exited the club into the alley again, and a rough hand gripped Lukas’s shoulder as he reached for the helmet dangling off his bike’s handlebar. He turned to see his brother, lips firm amidst a rough visage that made Lukas wonder if he looked as rough himself.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“We’re finding her. We’re making her ours, brother. Both of us. Right?” Iszak’s fingers dug into his shoulder painfully. His brother wasn’t fucking around.</p>
      <p class="subsq">“We’ll find her somehow. But I think the rest is up to her. Dragons are possessive and controlling as fuck. You gonna be okay with it if she wants to boss us around?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Iszak’s frown deepened, and Lukas wondered if he should let his brother off the hook and tell him he was joking. He decided he enjoyed Iszak’s discomfort too much. Both of them had enjoyed seeking solace in dark places after their sister’s disappearance. It had started with Vietnam, but letting themselves sink into violence only highlighted their need for better balance for their dark cravings. A desire for bondage and discipline in the bedroom was yet another thing he and his brother had in common, but where Lukas could at least be more reasonable outside of his kinks, Iszak had gotten used to being an alpha asshole. He wasn’t about to tell his brother that their mate had loved being tied up—it would spoil the fun of watching Iszak discover it for himself.</p>
      <p class="subsq">But now that Lukas had uttered the words, he decided if Belah wanted to turn the tables and boss him around, he’d kneel for her. He’d do anything for her.</p>
      <p class="subsq">Surprisingly, Iszak smiled. “I’d do whatever the fuck she wanted, if I could have her right now. We need to get her back, brother. Evie’d want it.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“Do you guys feel the chill? I think Hell just froze over,” Ozzie said, drawing their attention to him. He stood, leaning against the leather seat of his bike, slowly shaking his head. “I can’t wait to meet the girl that did this to you guys. I’ve seen you around women my whole life, and never once did you actually agree on anything so easily.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Lukas tilted his head toward the street. “C’mon and follow us back to our place, man. If you want to find your own mate, we’ve gotta teach you the song.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Ozzie’s eyes lit up. “<i>The</i> actual song … not the alternate arrangement we used to play?”</p>
      <p class="subsq">“The one and only.”</p>
      <p class="subsq">Beside him, Iszak slung a leg over his bike, already humming the tune. Two more days and they’d play it again together for the first time in ages. They’d play it like their lives depended on it, and she would come back to them.</p>
      <p class="subsq">She had to.</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</body>
</html>
